Cars Kept Crashing into this House! | What have they done to make it safer?

After some recent changes to this junction in Fiddlers Hamlet, Epping, I decided to investigate to see whether it might stop vehicles crashing into the house.
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[@OutlawJackC]

Driving fast when you can't see doesnt sound like the best of plans

[@user-sf7kl9uh7k]

Tell at least 50% of drivers that!

[@ArnoldClarke]

Fun

[@billyporter1389]

@@user-sf7kl9uh7k Sorry but only two of us here know that.

[@gingernutpreacher]

​​@@ArnoldClarkefun on the bun?

[@DjDolHaus86]

In theory I agree but it depends where you live as to the actual practicalities. I live in Cornwall where the majority of our roads are narrow and lined with high hedges and dry stone walls, if everyone pootled around at 20mph it would be even more impossible to get from A-B in a reasonable timeframe than it already is. For example a 50 mile journey along the common routes can easily take upwards of an hour and a half travelling at a reasonable speed, if you get stuck behind a nervous driver it can easily add an hour onto your time and there is not much in the way of safe overtaking opportunities.

[@tony_w839]

Not just Epping Forest, the majority of drivers drive to fast for the roads, particularly bendy country roads, so keep up the good work Ashley, and keep spreading the message.

[@SiCrewe]

Peer Pressure is a powerful thing. A road like that probably has a lot of locals "making good progress" along it and a visitor is likely to feel compelled to drive at a similar speed, despite not having the same knowledge of where they need to slow down.

[@worldfire956]

far too many narrow bendy roads are the national speed limit which, in my opinion, is pure insanity

[@dreamcrusher112]

@@worldfire956 People should take personal responsibility and not careen off the road... Don't need a nanny speed limit.

[@KILLER.KNIGHT]

@@worldfire956Extremely true!

[@QiuEnnan]

@@dreamcrusher112 Exactly - which is why the government need to either step up enforcement a lot, or just lower the speed limit to 50 mph on single carriageways.

[@olirc]

Give it a couple of years and the bushes will be grown back and the road surface will be all but worn off and it'll take them 10 years to do something about it, which will probably be return it back to normal road surface, because that's exactly what's happened around here.

[@CraigNiel]

Yeah but they've got the reinforced bollards as a backu..... oh wait...

[@SimonJM]

Ok, we saw your approach during the hours of daylight so night driving will be different, but my main thought on this was, "oh, look, there is a structure/house in front of me, maybe I should take care to see what the road does"; the fact there is actually a junction (regardless of how well posted and/or hidden it is) ahead is kind of secondary.

[@Kieran.Rob53]

Was looking for someone to comment on the night time / day time difference

[@Pystro]

The problem though is that for much of the approach, you only see the low wall to the right of the house. The house itself comes into view from behind the hedges and trees quite late (2:24). Until that point, it would be understandable to assume that that wall stops just a little further to the left, if you don't know that there's a T-junction there. Also, that low wall is quite dark; I don't know if that's because of the position of the sun at that time, or if it can have an impact on its visibility at night. Maybe some retro-reflectivity or a brighter color on that wall could help.

[@andrewlong6438]

@@PystroIt would have been interesting to undertake the trip at night to see how well lit the road was not to mention the wall in question. The crashes seemed to have happened at night when road conditions would be different.

[@engineeredlifeform]

I'd have slowed as soon as I saw buildings, because buildings means people, dogs, vehicles emerging, and situations that can change quite quickly. I'd be more cautious at night.

[@RenAigu]

House should've worn hi viz Serious note: I think I would've reflectored the hell out of my wall after the first time. And also since the major issue, as almost always, is the approaching speed, a speed bump like 50 meter before the junction and/or some rumble strips might help. A speedbump later might do the adverse. And the painted island could be a raised kerbed island.

[@TheRip72]

I agree about adding a red reflector to the wall, possibly even a LED powered by a solar panel & battery.

[@christaylor1575]

I'd go with rumble strips and in that situation the sort that gradually get more severe on approach so they rattle your fillings going over 20mph as the house come into view..

[@cones914]

add a bend to the road

[@TheFingerman37]

I think they could have added some more give way signs with a 100m countdown (as on the motorways). They have done it on a notorious crossroads near my abode, as people drive too fast for the narrow lane, which is heavily used. I hope the people living in the house are OK! Keep up the good work. On a side note, a lot of councils have stopped trimming verges and overhanging trees, due to the "wilding" excuse , I think more to save money.

[@archivist17]

Both reasons can be true.

[@kenbrown2808]

in my state in the US, there are also junctions that are notorious for catching people out, where they have ground "rumble strips" across the roadway.

[@TheRip72]

The 'wilding' excuse? Because they want to cut their budget? I have noticed a big increase on the amount of partially covered road signs over the last few years.

[@alyx6427]

i almost ran a give way somewhere cuz they literally had a give way sign right around a corner without any signage… and they give way markings weren’t the most visible

[@dylancode]

Nah, that house should be wearing high-vis and have lights on. It's absolutely NEVER the drivers' fault! - carbrain

[@jaycee330]

I would have thought perhaps some rumble strips in the approach to the junction would wake someone up at night, especially. This is something I find on country roads in the US, the middle of the road is a rumble strip, so if you drift over at night, it alerts you.

[@PedroConejo1939]

That's a simple, (relatively) low-cost solution. We also have vehicle-activated flashing lights on the approach to a dodgy junction near us.

[@georgehelyar]

Yes we have rumble strips here too. I don't know why they didn't add them here. To me it would have made sense to add them where the new road surface starts, or any other number of traffic calming that they could have added. Probably just to save money.

[@KahnuevsKrake]

​@@georgehelyar Some sort of physical traffic calming measure at least. Because looking at the footage, the drivers went pretty quick past the stop line, so the extra grip on road surface probably wouldn't have made a difference if they're going that quick. Maybe a big red STOP sign?

[@kevinmartin8088]

Yes, rumble strips are an excellent solution and don't wear out like the new highlighted road surface is starting to show signs of already.

[@davidvernon3670]

Interesting and informative to look at the road to see how it could be improved to minimise future incidents but there’s no doubt that the crashed drivers were going far too fast and it was very lucky nobody was killed. If I was assessing a crash there I’d be rather dismissive of a driver trying to blame the road due to the high speed involved. These videos you make are great keep up the helpful work.

[@chrisclarke8451]

Seemed very charitable considering the amount of people that have negotiated that junction and managed not to crash into a frikkin house!

[@dylancode]

Nah, that house should be wearing high-vis and have lights on. It's absolutely NEVER the drivers' fault! - carbrain

[@stefansoder6903]

You are supposed to be able to stop within the distance you can see. That's the fundamental rule of driving...

[@clickrick]

On bends like those, in _half_ the distance you can see to be clear.

[@benws8246]

The issue is as you explained early in the video, people driving too fast. We need to stop making excuses for poor driving. We definitely need harsher sentences for people driving in this manner. Because of the lack of police around, there is no deterrent. I would love to know if any of those crashing drivers received any sort of punishment? Probably deemed an 'accident' and left to continue their stupid ways.

[@Devlin0709]

I love how you checked both blind spots before saying “hi everyone”. A true professional

[@jcpren]

It looks to me like even the old give way sign had been upgraded from standard spec (larger than normal, and bordered in yellow) so I'd bet there were more accidents further back in the past, and that the latest changes were not the first attempt at a solution

[@ibs5080]

It would be interesting to find out what the verbal instructions are from the various different model sat navs for that junction. Especially for turning left out of that T junction. I wonder if many of them say "Bear left" as opposed to "At the next JUNCTION, turn left". The former would give the impression that you simply follow the main road round to the left. My sat nav sometimes does this for both left and right turns, and it can do this from a minor road onto a major and vice versa.

[@ashley_neal]

Good point.👍

[@ibs5080]

@@ashley_neal Or as they sometimes say to express surprise "Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs!". But maybe not in this house.

[@ArnoldClarke]

Would you drive into a lake if it told you so?

[@ibs5080]

@@ArnoldClarke There was a case here in Canterbury where a taxi driver turned left onto the railway tracks "because my sat nav told me to".

[@Rapid_GT]

I doubt it, that only usually happens on a new lay-out and this junction is old but I wonder how many cars have crashed into this house before the 12 month period of 2 and if none then what changed ??

[@bellerophonchallen8861]

a big problem is people drive to what they can see, rather than what might be hidden from view. They don't seem to read any road signs, either literal or figurative. Where I live the entrance to the estate used to come out just over a blind rise in a 60mph road. we had to use a mirror on a pole to see what might be coming along and to make matters worse the road here is in a cutting with 12ft banks either side. cars would crest the rise at 60 then have twenty yards to stop in if a farm tractor was emerging, or us in our car, despite there being several slow signs painted on the road and three junction signs on posts. One 'amusing' incident involved the farm pulling a 15ft trailer out loaded with round bales and driving to the farm where the driver discovered a van wedged under the trailer. He'd felt a slight bump but hadn't thought anything of it with 11 tons of straw on the back, but a works Astra van had crested the hill and ran under the trailer, then been dragged all the way to the farm. The men in it were unhurt but shaken up!! On another occasion my elderly neighbour was run down getting on the bus by a guy who drove over the hill, found the bus in front of him at the bus-stop with cars coming the other way so cut along the verge and broke both her legs and spine. Both of them drove to what was in front of them instead of thinking 'what if.....' and obeying the road signs.

[@douglasreid699]

after crash 1, i would be asking the bricky to repair the wall but also doublining its thickness or putting pillars in to strengthen it so any other cars dont reach the house if they crash. i watched a video by Reg local who does videos on advanced driving and riding, the video was on the limit point. he was saying to ask yourself a question, not the question of how fast does the limit point show me how quick i can go round this bend, but can i stop in the distance i see to be clear/safe. that question made me change my attitude to reading corners and i feel would help some people driving along that road.

[@garrypepperman]

Nice to see you around my neck of the woods. I think those hedges will grow back and cover the give way sign in time. If I was the house owner I’d be trimming them myself.

[@Nickbaldeagle02]

If I was the house owner I'd be installing some vertically planted RSJs and half inch thick steel cladding for a boundary wall.

[@SabotsLibres]

Driving fast on country roads is endemic, but locals should know where the junctions are...as you say. The grippy road surface may be a help but I think - maybe belt and braces - rumble strips leading up to the junction would be a good move too.

[@JeffJefferyUK]

I live in SE London. We usually holiday in Yorkshire, sometimes Cheshire. What is noticeable is how differently (badly) people drive as we return home and get close to the M25. There's much less courtesy, much more driving too close, much more speeding, much more 'get out of my way' headlight flashing, much more 'undertaking' and lane weaving. All round just much more aggressive and selfish. I'm not suggesting that all people driving up north are perfect, but the difference is so easily noticed around and in London. My point is, I'm not in the slightest bit surprised that Ashley found that so many drivers around Epping were driving like they do.

[@ianmason.]

"Yorkshire" probably meaning the countryside. Try Bradford, makes London driving look positively saintly.

[@JeffJefferyUK]

@@ianmason. Yes, I agree. I've not really been in to city/town centres other than Scarborough. It's definitely a city thing.

[@princesspinkblue]

My initial thought was that the two crashes you showed on the cctv happen in darkness. Maybe the street lighting situation also played a part & needs to be changed, especially in terms of the visibility of the signs (they were hardly visible behind the trees in the daylight, but would definitely be missed in darkness)

[@ianmason.]

There's no street lighting at all in the area, and it's a national speed limit road.

[@MrFuckwit999]

The apparently didn't notice a two story building right in front of them? That's a brain-function problem, not a lighting problem. If it was my home, I'd probably just install a car-proof barrier.

[@OrangeLiqueur]

@@MrFuckwit999except it’s not in front of them until the very last second, and the give way signs were pretty obscured. If it was one crash, that’d be one thing, but the fact that the crashes just kept happening implied the road was, at least a little bit, at fault.

[@RJ-ld8ns]

Hey Ashley, I got a request for a video which may sound like an odd one but I’ve watched a load of your videos and find your way of explaining and teaching to be clear and easy. My request is a video on Looking, awareness and planning. As they all go together. What advice do you have? where to look, how to not stare, how to react calmly and read the situation. I personally struggle with planning and staring at the certain things mainly out of fear but rewatching your videos with Erin, you clocked very quickly on the issue. I was wondering you could dive deeper in to it? Thanks a bunch if you do read this.

[@Asdayasman]

Spend more time in the car and on the road. Get a dashcam, and review ALL your journeys when you get home. Say, out loud, what you should have done better at the time, and how you could have noticed it before it became a problem. When out on the road after that, say, out loud, what you're considering and what's got your attention.

[@ganrimmonim]

I might well have mistaken it for a bend rather than a T-junction, but given the pace I drove, especially on roads like that, if I didn't know them well. I would have been able to stop in time. Back when I could still drive. But you'd have to be going very fast to bang through a wall like that.

[@DashCamSheffield]

Some junctions are just poor due to the drivers. Fox House in the Peak District (Hathersage Road) is a great example. There's a long straight downhill section, followed a SHARP BLIND right turn. The wall is constantly being rebuilt as they get caught out. This is more at night, but as there's also a junction on the corner, so you have drivers (...plus cyclists...) chancing the blind junction. Winter/snow can play its role.

[@archivist17]

Near Crowborough, in Sussex, there is a short piece of road with a crawler lane . At the top, it narrows, and there is a sharp bend. This is the location of the 'Porsche Tree' where such cars are regularly found after having accelerated on the straight and not anticipated at all.

[@archivist17]

Fox House is an excellent example!

[@hypergolic8468]

Ashley: "I'm taking you for a lovely day out! Near London " Mrs Neal: "That sounds like a great thing to do" Ashley "Oh yes we're going to see a show! It's a story of tragedy and redemption" Mrs Neal "Great, what is it, Opera? Musical? Shakespeare? sounds fantastic!" Ashley "A road junction in Epping Forest"

[@ibs5080]

Although it doesn't apply in this case, I find it quite ironic that there are sometimes speed limit signs that denote an increase in speed limit leading up to a T junction with a Give Way. It's basically to tell you that the major road you are about to turn into has a higher limit but if it's not obvious it's a T junction coming up ahead, I would imagine some drivers accelerating when in fact they should be slowing and preparing to Give Way.

[@insightphoto]

very good point

[@kenbrown2808]

that seems like poor planning, to me. I'd think putting the sign where the person at the junction saw it would be a better plan.

[@gavinreid2741]

I know an increased speed limit sign that is immediately before a slow down tight bend sign.

[@ibs5080]

@@gavinreid2741 Actually yes, you've reminded me, I've seen that too. I've also seen an increase in speed limit followed by one of those red "Kill your speed" signs.

[@OrangeLiqueur]

Somewhere along the route from Bridgend to Aberystwyth, there’s a speed limit increase, followed immediately by a blind dip, within which is a single lane bridge. And there are signs saying something like “there were 43* casualties on this road between 20xx and 20yy” and it’s like… no fucking wonder. *not 100% on this number specifically Edit: the b4337 crossing Afon Peris near Fantasy Farm Park cafe. It’s actually a decrease from 60 to 50, and there are road signs, but the trees obscure the road. There wasn’t any speed limit change at all in 2016, and in 2008 there wasn’t even the signage.

[@mickman0073]

Drove around Epping for years never had a problem, as a teenager back in the 70's it was the place to drive too.. Saw a few accident scenes though.. Esp around the High Beech area, too many people driving too fast down narrow roads with reduced line of sight due to greenery.. Since I moved to the East Coast I rarely go near Epping, the nearest I get is North Weald on my way to Harlow.Epping was good country lane driver training in my youth😊

[@marklittler784]

Keeping a good distance from the vehicle in front helps take the pressure off that driver to make absolute maximum progress ahead and they can pay far more attention to the front.

[@richardharvey1732]

Hi Ashley, very interesting!, not what I would ever have called a difficult junction, but then I have never gone off the road into a house!. One thing I did see however was yet another example of the way road margins have been allowed to grow so much more, back in the good old days when all road were managed by the local authority it was standard practice for all tree and hedge growth to be kept a minimum of ten feet from the tarmac edge, since the government take-over and the establishment of the Highways Agency this appears to have been abandoned!, I now see many rural highways were the only foliage trimming is done by passing vehicles!, much much cheaper for sure but is that safe!. In those situations where some hedge-trimming is done the machine is usually made to skip the bit where the road signs are! and now obscured road signs are 'normal'. One of the interesting things that I have observed in rural France is that where the local roads are all managed by the local authority everything does seem to be in much better order!. Cheers, Richard.

[@smilerbob]

Quite a lot of rural hedges I believe are the responsibility of the land owner. Certainly in very rural areas the farmers, or farm hands, will trim back the hedges at the start of spring before the birds make nests and in autumn when those nests have been abandoned. Side note fact - you cannot cut back any greenery if there are nesting birds unless the greenery poses immediate threat to life. In these suburban areas some of these land places aren’t owned by farmers anymore but instead by families that like to have a field where the dog can run around and look at rabbits, therefore the hedges are very untamed I agree though that they should be better kept and even the small hedge at the front on my house is trimmed three times a year so pedestrians can use the footpath wothout needing to go into the road…or duck under a bramble 👍

[@PedroConejo1939]

@@smilerbob Yep. I've commented similarly. Our hedge gets brutalised annually by the farmer but as someone else commented, they avoid the bits where there are any poles or signs, so the whole business become more dangerous each year. No-one seems to take responsibility for maintaining signs anymore. I've seen a piece on one bloke who goes around cleaning road signs off his own bat. Good on him, but it's a national disgrace really.

[@richardharvey1732]

@@smilerbob Hi Smiler Bob, thank you very much for such a sensible and detailed response!. I do enjoy this style of dialogue, while we may differ on some details there will be some where I have missed something and maybe others where you have. I do not actually know what is included in the legislation that the Highways Agency is meant to adhere to but as far as I do know most national roads have definite margins that usually go to and include the centre of any old boundary markers like hedges, in many rural areas I suspect that local farmers are encouraged to cut the road side of their hedges and maybe get paid for it but this would not include felling or lopping large trees, that sort of work which could be hazardous to road traffic would have to be done properly if at all' On the subject of birds nests, the law states categorically that it is a crime to disturb any active nest at any time!, what is not illegal however is trimming foliage by hand!, as long as this is done without nest disturbance it can be done at any time!. This is one of many things that could and perhaps should be done by real people out there doing what needs to be done to take proper care of our environment as and when needed not just when we feel like it or can 'afford' it. This is one of many public sector activities which I would like to see included in a new form of National Service where every citizen is expected to help with some part time work for the community, that is the only way to create a community!. This would of course include spending the time and energy needed to clear all plastic and metal rubbish and ensure that all roadside ditches, culverts, gully's and grips are kept clear and functional so that there are never any puddles of standing water on the roads, this alone would save millions in the cost of road repairs. We hear all sorts of people banging on about how much they care for our country but none of them lift a finger, it always appears to be someone else's job!. I clearly remember seeing teams of Council Highways workers out there working their way along country roads!. For some reason we seem to have elected politicians who think that all a waste of money!. Apologies for ranting on so!. Cheers, Richard.

[@williamgeorgefraser]

There was a house like this near where I lived in Burgundy a few years ago. It was situated next to a main road at the top of a hill with a climb on both sides. It was also on the outside of a sharp bend. It had roughly one car a month run into it. This only came to a halt when the motorway was built to bypass the road and eliminate most of the traffic.

[@FAS1948]

I agree with some of the other comments. MOST drivers go too fast for the conditions and it is mainly luck that prevents more crashes.

[@Zeklandia]

Where I live, the high speed limit, low-visibility roads have raised strips of the same reflective paint used for lines and markings in advance of junctions with a stop sign. Cars will rumble going over them, similar to the rumble strips on the sides of the lanes. Something like that could be useful at this junction.

[@mrsmirnoff8715]

As a local to the area I can safely say Ash is 100% correct. Too many people around here drive like they're the only car on the road.

[@hicky62]

Judging by the crash footage, it seems the vehicles were travelling too fast for the roads and conditions, nighttime with little or no street lighting. Living in a rural area, I've come to realise people drive much too fast on country roads. There is a corner house near me, which has been hit twice in 2 years. Yet it is at least 100 metres from the last bend. The estimated speed of one vehicle at the bend was 104 mph! The driver was way over the alcohol limit and unfortunately lost his life. The second was more fortunate. But, both cases were due to excessive speed on unlit unfamiliar roads, though alcohol didn't help matters in at least one.

[@smilerbob]

Is it me or does there appear to be no street lighting on that junction? What about 100-200 yards of rumble strips on the road like when approaching a roundabout on faster roads? Would that assist with highlighting “a hazard ahead” or “change of speed required” better?

[@jmileshc]

As it's near residence's the strips would make quite a noise.

[@paul8161]

​@jmileshc probably better to have a bit of noise then be woken up with a car in your living room and guests in your house 🏠 😉.

[@dylancode]

Nah, that house should be wearing high-vis and have lights on. It's absolutely NEVER the drivers' fault! - carbrain

[@JohnnyMotel99]

A good addition would be those yellow lines that get closer to each other as you approach the junction. It provides a strong visual reminder.

[@Gorf1234]

To be fair, road planners need a few incidents to happen in order to identify issues. In my time driving (just over thirty years) I've noticed that driving agression, awareness, speed and co-operation varies by area. This means that it's not easy to plan consistently. There's always the "worst case", but that requires money that councils don't have.

[@markhosking1882]

The late, great, John Peel used to avoid driving via Essex, on his way home to Norfolk from London, because he believed many drivers in Essex were a little too reckless or aggressive. Might be a factor? Particularly as you yourself noticed the careless driving in just the short time you were there. :)

[@PedroConejo1939]

There are definitely areas of the country where reckless/aggressive driving is more prevalent. I always found Newport-Cardiff a bad spot as well as Winchester-Southampton. There just seems to be a local attitude.

[@avalon7902]

Add Crawley and West Sussex. Go and hope.

[@geoffreycodling8071]

Get one of the utility companies to put up some four way traffic lights then when they are finished leave the road surface like a minefield, that should slow down traffic.

[@trueriver1950]

Semi-serious suggestion: Radar controlled spikes that deploy to stop cars going at stupid speeds. Much better deterrent than a fine in the post weeks later.

[@expatbiker6598]

I think the biggest factor is time of the day. Seems like all accidents happened at night. Visibility could be way different at night.

[@laceandwhisky]

If a councillor lived there, it would have a speed camera sited and more signs.😊 We have one near Midhurst, suddenly you are driving down a school drive, catches many out 😊

[@ibs5080]

Another dangerous situation I've seen is where the main road bends to the left and there is a side road in the straight ahead position. Under these circumstances it can appear that the main road carries straight on into what would be the side road. Of course, any driver making that mistake is then at risk of colliding with an oncoming vehicle on the main road. I'm always wary of these "cross over" situations.

[@itsmyview2024]

Reduced speed limit with adequate signage, its obviously a small hamlet and trying to reduce speeding would be a bonus

[@clivewilliams3661]

I used to live in Alconbury Weston, Hunts, when it had the A1 pass through the village. Alconbury Hill was the northern approach and was 1 mile long and at the bottom of the hill was a RH bend that went immediately over the brook with a flattish bridge. Facing the northern approach was a house with a fence that was owned by a demolition contractor. The problem was that many lorries would fry their brakes by the time they got to the bottom and plow through the fence as an escape, rather than attempt the bridge. The homeowner was fed up of replacing the fence so he built a new one consisting of full length railway sleepers set edge on and close butted with only around 4' above ground i.e. buried about 4' deep!. This barrier was mightily strong and a huge discouragement to panicking truck drivers, who would rather attempt the bridge. After the new sleeper wall was erected there were no more lorry incursions although several trucks went off the side of the bridge into the brook. A couple of years later the Alconbury bypass was completed that diverted all the traffic. I had occasion to test the sleeper wall when I came down the hill and couldn't make the LH turn on my bike and hit the corner of the wall. My bike's front wheel and back wheel ended up together and I proved I couldn't fly! No damage to the sleeper wall though. 😄 The steel bollards shown in this clip I doubt would be very effective as they appear to be standard street furniture, which is quite lightweight. Damage resistant bollards would need to be 150mm dia steel tube, concrete filled and set at a foundation depth of 900mm in a mass concrete 600mm cube foundation. Given the danger posed by this junction I would have expected more and larger 'Give Way' signs with advanced notice. Also, having an applied grip surface is all well and good initially but it has to be maintained that is never the case and they lose the grip after about 5 years.

[@geoffrey6557]

Great video. I used to drive past here going towards Epping with the house on my left. I always drove cautiously because I quite often encountered traffic approaching me driving inappropriately fast.

[@MartinParnham]

I used to know that area a bit but haven't been there for a few years. As you can see, Fiddlers Hamlet has some enormous gaffs! Epping itself is quite nice too but less rural; still some nice houses though. Theydon Bois is also nice. Harlow is nearby and I'm not going to comment on that in case there's anybody from Harlow reading this...

[@johnjparsons]

So many signs are obscured by trees, hedges and bushes nowadays that sat nav is a real boon to understanding the road ahead.

[@paulsengupta971]

There's a pub which I used to go to on a Thursday for many years which has its fair share of vehicles drive into the pub. It's on a 90 degree bend with a junction coming from the other side, and is well within a 30mph area, with parked cars, etc. I really don't know how it's possible, but it happens.

[@halfrhovsquared]

There is a house near to where I live (again, opposite a T-junction) that has been crashed into so many times that they have placed a barrier in front of it, of the kind usually found in the central reservation of a motorway, and they have highlighted its presence with red retroreflective stripes.

[@klapiroska4714]

I think you could make that spot even safer by adding another yield sign on the junction but on the right hand side of the road. You'd be able to see it much further away. Ideally you'd add a small island on that painted median and put the sign there, but I don't know if that space is needed to accomodate large vehicles turning. Some warning markers (white chevrons or yellow/black pattern) on the other side of the junction might help a little bit too. Or maybe you could add "Reduce speed now" sign on the advance warning sign. Obviously driving slower would solve the issue too, but in a situation like this people are bad at evaluating what is a safe speed. 3 crashes in to a stationary and reasonably large house is a pretty good indicator of that. Changing the road layout a bit would be the best solution (so that it looks like a junction when you approach it), but that kind of change is not easy to make.

[@jaycee330]

Add rumble strips as well.

[@chrisl1797]

I can never understand why the property owners in cases like this don't buy massive chevrons from somewhere (you must be able to buy them). Sure it costs money, but better than having to re-build your house every 18 weeks (and all the inconvience that goes with it).

[@ibs5080]

I've been on unfamiliar road where it wasn't initially obvious on approach that there was a junction up ahead but even in those circumstances, I've been able to Give Way / Stop and it only took slightly harsher than normal braking to deal with the situation. How fast where those car basher drivers actually driving to not be able to deal with it, even if it meant a fairly hard stomp on the brakes?

[@hebijirik]

I think that in addition to how fast they were driving there is likely also a question of how much attention they have been paying. If they are in a conversation with someone elswhere via phone for example. Even that makes your reaction time easily a second longer if not multiple seconds. Or if they fiddle with some touchscreen of a modern infotainment, taking their eyes off the road at a bad moment. You combine something like that with just a bit of extra speed and you have the crash. If someone is used to casually driving 10mph over the speed limit withouth concentrating on driving and then it takes them one or two seconds to realise this is not just a bend from the place where on google maps Ashley showed the give way sign used to become visible, then they need to move the foot form accelerator to brake which also takes a moment, I think the result is the braking starts only after they have already entered the intersection. It might decrease the speed of the impact but it will still be something like we saw from the security camera.

[@trueriver1950]

... and how much they'd had to drink might pay some investigation...

[@dlevi67]

In addition to the other two replies above, the road surface and weather may also be part of the explanation. It seems to be wet in both clips - which is no excuse, but it may be part of the explanation.

[@paulsengupta971]

@@hebijirikI don't think distraction would be the cause in these cases. These drivers aren't just another driver driving too fast for the conditions, what they are doing is getting out of their urban environment for a "blat" in their cars around country roads, late at night when there's no traffic. They will be in full rally mode, so not distracted any anything. They're just driving too fast and are too unfamiliar with what the road does to be able to stop.

[@hebijirik]

@@paulsengupta971 That is certainly possible. I have no information about time of day other than it was dark when that one car crashed through that wall. Some parts of the year it is that dark 6.p.m. But even at 11p.m. you can have a tired distracted driver just as well as what you describe. I have seen people drive over the speed limit because that is what they are used to doing while not looking ahead for over 5 seconds because they got distracted. And all that while being convinced that they are a safe driver because they have not crashed yet and they are not driving faster than "everybody elese" according to them. So I am not convinced you need to reach "playing rally driver on a public road" level of stupidity to have this accident but it is certainly one possibility how to make it happen. Until you said it I did not even consider that.

[@gerhard6105]

One of our Dutch road designer would have placed several speedbumps on that crossing and it would be a 20 mp/h (30 km/h) zone. But good that they made it saver.

[@R04drunner1]

Advanced driving tells us, when cornering, that you should always be able to stop on your own side of the road in the distance you can see to be clear. So if you can't see, slow down. This is the concept of Limit Point: how far can you see up your side of the road when coming to a corner? If that limit point is static (not moving) then you need to consider slowing down so that you can still stop in the distance you can see to be clear. If the limit point is creeping (moving away from you but not as fast as you are approaching) you still need to consider slowing down, so that you can still stop in the distance you can see to be clear. If the limit point is matched (moving away from you at the same speed as you are travelling) then you are safe to proceed at your given speed. If the limit point is more than matched (moving away from you slightly faster than you are travelling) or even running (extending rapidly out into the distance) then you have improved visibility and can accelerate. (However, it's not just visibility to consider. We also need to consider the car's roadholding and handling, the traffic, lighting, and the road/climate conditions. For example, if there's a big puddle on the road, even though I can see the road is clear I'd be slowing down before entering the puddle, so that the car does not aquaplane or skid. If the road surface is broken up with potholes, I'd be slowing down as well.) Returning to the visibility question: after an unfortunate experience when I came round a blind uphill left hander a little too quickly, only to discover a jogger running rapidly towards me on my side of the road, I have modified the principle to say : "Drive at a speed where you can stop on your own side of the road in the distance you can reasonably expect to be clear." For clarity, that means I assume there's a jogger running rapidly towards me just around the corner! It also covers the situation of a single track road, where I might have to stop suddenly if a car comes rapidly around the corner in the opposite direction. Thanks Ashley. Another great video that encourages us, as drivers, to think and not just plough blindly on.

[@kenw394]

I have a video clip demonstrating your jogger point exactly with multiple joggers spread out across both sides of the carriageway.

[@R04drunner1]

@@kenw394 wow 😲

[@ianmason.]

Driving at such a speed that you can stop within the distance you can see is clear isn't advanced driving, it's basic driving.

[@kenw394]

@@ianmason. It should be. Unfortunately a lot of drivers think that how fast they can drive on B and C roads is a measure of how good a driver they are. Not how safely they can negotiate them, and preparing for anything unsighted possibly being around a corner.

[@jonathanm9200]

l live just up the road and go through this junction every morning. The three primary issues are :- Speed Speed + poor road surface (before they put in the high grip asphalt). Lots of leaves, it's usually very wet there and the old surface was worn smooth to glass. I've had ABS go off even slowing at normal speeds. Speed + non-local drivers. Sat Nav's direct you down these lanes as they read them as national speed limit and assume it's faster than sticking to the main roads. Its naive to think locals wont be making good progress along these roads and I won't say how fast we go normally down here, but we all know that junction and where the braking point is.

[@SiCrewe]

Similar thing near where I live. 60mph rural road lined with trees and hedgerows which appears to continue on, uninterrupted, for at least a mile or so. And then you negotiate a bend and find there's a staggered crossroads directly in front of you! There's a single "Give Way" sign at the junction which, to be fair, IS visible if you're looking for it but, on a road lined with trees, it's easy to miss. It's a rural road so it's not busy but, judging by the numerous skid-marks at the junction (and the holes in the hedgerow), it catches a lot of people out.

[@grahamnutt8958]

I had to review this footage for a reason. I found the clue that I needed. @2:04 confirmed a 40mph limit which could be reduced, nearer the junction, to 30mph. That is a solution that might pay off. Stay safe out there.

[@ashley_neal]

It does look like a National Speed Limit 👍

[@grahamnutt8958]

​@@ashley_nealThat was my initial assumption hence the reason to search for a clue. That particular sign appears to be a "repeater" type unless I am sorely mistaken. Thanks for the reply, Ashley.

[@KXXULADavidOC]

Really is crazy the speeds some people do on narrow, twisty country roads, looks like the junction is much safer now so hopefully the house wont get hit again

[@moonshinepz]

We had a fiat uno hit our house around 2000/2001, demolished the garden wall and caused massive structural damage. 400 year old cob cottage, 5ft thick walls. The repairs were very costly. Drunk driver. No road signs or junctions to blame. Hard to get your head around the energy in a car impact sometimes.

[@eddieregan1411]

Unfortunately hidden or obscured signs seem to be pretty normal. Very difficult when on unfamiliar roads

[@horrortackleharry]

I notice the September crash occurred at 3.20am. Draw your own conclusions about what the driver was doing tearing about the local roads at that time....

[@Asto508]

Main issue is lack of lighting on the corner, that's why both crashes happened at night.

[@archivist17]

It really isn't.

[@Sellinglobs]

The main issue is people on the road who shouldn't have a driving license

[@grahambonner508]

I agree street lighting would probably help, doesn't excuse the poor/dangerous driving though. If it were my house I would at least fix some red reflectors to the outside wall.

[@PedroConejo1939]

@@grahambonner508 At the speeds involved, I think any visual cues on the house would be too late. Billing the council for reinforced anti-truck-bomb bollards on the property boundary might concentrate minds though.

[@nickbea3443]

It doesn't appear to stop the vast majority from negotiating the junction . Let's focus on the inattentive crash drivers instead. Why couldn't they deal with the junction? Speed/phone use/drugs/drink?

[@stevegodsell]

Great video, and sympathies for the poor people who live in that house. It's great to see the council upgrading that junction, but as you pointed out so well, it's the speed and attitude of some drivers who cause many of these issues. From looking at your video, those accidents are purely driver error and silly avoidable errors at that.

[@donaldasayers]

There's an oblique cross roads in our village where an A road crosses a fairly major B road. There had been numerous crashes, visibility coming towards the village is not great with a brow of a hill, and a bend and another bend on the approach on the B road. One lady on the corner simply gave up mending her garden wall and all the road signs had been wiped out. All they have done is improve the road markings and the advanced signage and so far we are over a year from the last crash.

[@luisluis5306]

Go to a actual east London borough Ashley and see how they drive there!

[@Lizzard-t]

Some people just seem to think that no matter how they drive they are made of titanium. And as we know a neatly trimmed bush makes things easier to see.

[@nats2976]

My friends from Essex always complain the roads in London are too slow as they can drive 40mph in most areas.

[@kenbrown2808]

my first thought is they came from a pub up the road. also, I don't thing the original road design was the problem, it was deferred maintenance. the give way signs were most likely there before the vegetation.

[@SiRhodesDriverTraining]

A farmer near me had an issue with motorists missing a T Junction and going barrelling into his Driveway. On approach to the junction, it did look like a continuation of the road apart from the Give Way markings which some were obviously going too fast to see despite it being a 30mph area. The farmers solution ? 2 massive motorway spec No Entry signs at the end of his driveway. I don’t know how he obtained them as you can tell the council didn’t install them, but it works. No more motorists missing the end of the road. It’s bad that it has to be this way as you can’t trust others to take care.

[@annabelholland]

As someone who has been to Europe, their give way signs do not have text on them (like the one at 2:18 but without the plate saying 'give way 100 yards'). It would be cool if UK adopted this approach as its useful in Wales 'ildiwch' as new signs have to be bilingual. Almost all countries in Europe does this except UK and France (cedez le passage) It's clearly much better to use little text wherever possible to comply with the Geneva convention on road signs and to allow international travellers to understand it better.

[@richardgiles2484]

It's not the junction that's at fault. It's the drivers and we must have 1000s like this in the UK. Yes they have spent a massive amount of money on this, and all that was needed was a few speed ramps leading up to the junction 😂

[@KahnuevsKrake]

Even with more visible signage and Shellgrip tarmac, I'm skeptical about how effective it'll be. Trees will eventually obscure the signs unless they're checked and trimmed weekly, and looking at the footage, the car clearly didn't brake at the stop line, so the extra grip probably wouldn't have made a difference. Many bad drivers ignore signage, and if they can afford to resurface the road, they should put speed bumps in it or something, and a big red STOP sign.

[@Soupdragonism]

@ 4.02 the house isn't visible. Low dark wall and house on the right might suggest the road continues straight ahead with drivers correcting in the last few seconds and hitting the house. If I lived there I'd be making the wall move visible at night.

[@06kellyjac]

I'd probably put reflective buttons/strips on the brick wall too

[@robg521]

I Used to live in a small village between to major towns with the main trunk road running through, the trouble was there were big large roads widened during the war either side but not in the village, with a sharp left bend the same as this vid. A couple of times the people in house on the corner woke at night to find an artic lorry in their front room. The village had been pushing for a by pass for 40years, it was only when these crashes started to get extreme like this when they actually built the by pass.

[@Nickle314]

Steel joists. Embedded in concrete set vertically. That prevents the cars going into the house.

[@InclusiveDriving]

It would be a relatively easy job to use catseyes at give way and stop lines: a green aspect for people on the major road, red aspect for people in the side road. Would probably need a change in the law though.

[@Woppettier]

What about some speed bumps and reflective signs/lights in the corner? In my eyes they did the bare minimum for such a high amount of serious crashes

[@delcat8168]

Speed operated laser cannon... ?

[@grahamwilton]

I live locally. I know and have seen people regularly drink drive, drug drive, use mobile phones whilst driving and drive at speed without care for anyone else. You can blame road signage as much as you like, but it's the people who are the problem. Epping High Street has illegal number plates, parking on zig zags, weed smoking whilst driving, going through red lights all on a normal Saturday afternoon. Today there was a police car parked up outside the old police station on the high street and a car just 10m ahead parked on zig zags.

[@cyclecam6328]

There's been 2 serious crashes on the road outside my house, its a 30 but at night its a favourite for racers to floor it. Speed control measures arent suitable because its an alternative route for ambulances near the hospital to bypass a clogged main road.

[@Asto508]

Speed camera? Problem solved?

[@cyclecam6328]

@@Asto508 good idea but the cost is prohibitive to the council. Torbay has almost no speed cameras

[@PedroConejo1939]

Request a camera van visit. Won't put a complete stop to it but at least some of the offenders will win prizes.

[@deelitedmanchester4302]

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this and I'm not going to trawl through the comments to find out, but... If you are unsure of the roads that you are travelling along, even local ones, Sat Navs are a brilliant aid. An occasional glance at the screen will give you advance warning of bends and junctions coming up, even if you haven't set a destination. Particularly helpful at night, as I discovered earlier this year when driving through Turkey. The other obvious tip Ashley already mentioned, keep yer soddin' speed down! 😊

[@TheNiceJackass]

The council could paint "slow" just before the little corner, it would really help when it's raining at night.

[@dalmo001]

2:23 you can see Ashley goes over a small crest in the road on the approach to the junction. I wonder if the high speeds + the crest, destabalized the crash cars in anyway. This added with any weather influenced road surfaces would mean less braking time and one more possibility for overshooting the junction.

[@thebrummierailenthusiasts5329]

I believe the drivers mistake to be the road that goes straight across but prove them wrong it’s the house that’s in front of them not the road that goes straight across

[@smilerbob]

I assume a smaller flexible and reflective sign in the middle of the road at the junction where the white paint is (also replace that with a little painted hump) with the words “Give Way” and the triangle sign wouldn’t be suitable due to larger vehicles turning? Just thinking that the sign wouldn’t then be affected by trees or hedges but also be visible as drivers come round the bend

[@lukearoo]

add a speed bump and the cars will go through the upstairs window instead. whenever i hear about houses being hit, its regarding a property in lawford, where the corner is called "dangerous" - oddly enough though, unless your travelling 3 times the speed limit, its scarcely even a corner, let alone a dangerous one. you could paint the house a brighter color, add flashing lights and put in a machine gun nest and some idiot will still be staring at their phone doing 90 round the corner at it.

[@Rapid_GT]

Those give way signs are still inadequate in my opinion, the one on the right should be on the left, the last one needs to be brought forward because it's still obscured by the curve in the road, the end of the road needs to be widened too, maybe even a set of traffic lights is required as lights are more visible at night.

[@SurvivalSquirrel]

Putting up signs, so people would not crash. Thats actually quite a great idea.

[@RiverMersey]

Another great video, thanks Ash! While in London, maybe try to visit @ClearView driving school?!😍

[@bobbyladd]

A sign lighting up, showing the drivers current speed or the word SLOW, would have been more cost effective compared to the changes they did make. That last give way is going to disappear into the trees within 12 months.

[@obscureinception8302]

People driving too fast on roads in the Epping Forest area is definitely a problem. In addition to the collisions with this house it has also recently been a factor in horse riders and cyclists being hit, and regularly leads to deer being hit (which can cause significant damage to the vehicle that hits them and cause the driver to lose control).

[@kathrynwhitby9799]

as you covered, and it's the same with the majority of councils across the country, where they cut budgets so much, that signs and markings are allowed to become worn out or obscured to the extent they're useless to any passing driver. Oxon's roads are just as bad as your "before" shots.

[@Nickbaldeagle02]

13 years of Tory cuts. They just need more time.

[@toxlaximus3297]

Plus a lot of them drink drive, early nineties I was approaching a junction in a rural area at night, I was indicating to turn left then I slowed down and the car behind me veered off the road and undertook me on the grass at the side of the road and then bounced around and ended up in the middle of the junction ahead of me and facing me, he was really drunk but he did apologize and no damage was done. The rich think the rules don't apply to them but money can't circumvent the laws of psychics or stop them getting hurt, upper class pillocks.

[@MrLunarlander]

ISTM that the best thing the council could have done is to do away with the flared, widened part of that road at the junction - without the road edge curving to the left it then wouldn't look like a bend at all. A bit more cumbersome to turn left perhaps, but I think it would solve the problem.

[@chrisprintall1408]

I'm very aware of road signs here in Cardiff that are obscured, usually by plant growth

[@iainamurray]

What is a bit puzzling is that you point out that it looks like the road bends to the left, so why did the cars plough straight on?! Evidently too fast for the road conditions.

[@jarthurs]

We have a poor inoffensive wall locally, which gets knocked down two or three times a year. It's opposite a T junction on a tiny road where you'd have a great deal of difficulty in reaching a decent speed and there is no significant reason that it should be such a target. The T-junction in question is comes out of a road where the local McDonalds is, and my Wife and I joke that the accidents occur when the driver goes to make their first turn and realises they didn't secure their hot drinks or food properly.

[@nendwr]

That driving style in the South East of England... It's just terrifying. Coming in from the West, something goes horribly wrong at the Wiltshire/Berkshire border, then people don't dtive normally again until one's within the North and South Circular Roads. The country would be safer if we banned people from the Home Counties from driving.

[@PhilofBristol]

Part of the problem may come from Sat nav systems. Too often I notice mine shows a single step of several miles without taking junctions into account. This can give users a false impression of the road on which they are driving.

[@dylancode]

Nah, that house should be wearing high-vis and have lights on. It's absolutely NEVER the drivers' fault! - carbrain

[@malcolm6951]

Major problem on many roads are partially obscured signs. At night their presence should be more obvious not less as they reflect head lights.

[@Gdank72]

There are three speed in Epping. Stop, stuck in heavy traffic, or 60mph. You should have looked at the double roundabout in Epping, so many impatient idiots belting across them, you'd have a month's foottage in 20mins. Yours sincerely an Epping Resident.